


all i've kept quiet

by addictedtoacertainlifestyle



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (not so awkward) Space Virgins, Everybody Lives, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fix-It, Fluff and Smut, Force Bond (Star Wars), Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Soft Ben Solo, rey is also very soft, they're both so emotional help them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 12:53:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22496395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addictedtoacertainlifestyle/pseuds/addictedtoacertainlifestyle
Summary: He could die now, if he had to. To lay his life down for her to live — he’d do it in a heartbeat.But he doesn’t have to.Together, they rise like the sun overlooking the darkness.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 17
Kudos: 100





	all i've kept quiet

**Author's Note:**

> finally, my mandatory TROS fix-it is here! it took me a while, but i think i am very pleased with the result. these two deserved everything and i want to give it all to them. they belong to us now, and we should give them everything they missed out on. damn you jj. 
> 
> this has some inconsistencies (i'm not familiar with the use of terminology and such) but honestly, in comparison to TROS, it's nothing. if the writers choose to fuck up so badly then i think i'm totally fine with writing this however i want.
> 
> i really do hope y'all enjoy this. please leave a comment and tell me what you thought! i am not intending to leave this pairing behind any time soon, i have plenty of ideas i still want to do <3

_ With a kiss you’ll know all I’ve kept quiet.  _

\- Pablo Neruda

\--

He brings her back from the edge of oblivion.

She lifts her hand and lays it on top of his as life flows from him to her, shaking off the cold and the dust from her bones. Ben can feel it in the Force around them, how it trickles back into her marrow, seeps into her bloodstream once more. He holds Rey tight, trembling. His chest burns with something warm, a loud thundering in his rib cage that crackles with each breath he takes. Anticipation crawls up his throat, lingers in the back of his mouth waiting for relief.

A deep breath, a new life. Rey scrambles upwards, he pulls her along. Her eyes grow clear again, burst into flames of deep hazel; searching for something in his own gaze.

”Ben.”

Her faint whisper calls out to him — voice spilling with gratitude, awe. And her smile, Force, her smile. It shakes the foundations of his very being.

At last, he is found; he becomes alive, for the first time in his life.

“Rey…”

“You saved me,” she gasps, tears gathering in her eyes. “I… I thought you were…”

Her hand comes up to brush his cheek, fingertips tapping on the battle-rough skin. His whole body shakes from the pain, bones aching, but all he can feel is her touch, everything else exiled from his mind. She crackles in the Force, fresh and renewed and bright. So very bright.

First she hesitates, looks into his eyes one more time and glances his lips. Her uncertainty is gone in a blink as she dives in — and just like that, she kisses him like she’s been waiting for it her whole life. Maybe she has.

Around them, the Force rejoices.

It’s clumsy, it’s fast, her nose is squished against his cheek and their lips are smashed together artlessly; it’s everything he could have ever wanted. He gently pulls her closer to him as her hand wounds into his hair. The spark that passes between them in the Force turns into a phenomenal livewire. Pure energy, their combined life force feeding off of each other, healing one another, circling between them in an endless, boundless dance that binds them even further together; two into one.

They pull apart but keep close. He bursts into a huge smile, far too joyous to hold back, her beautiful light flowing into him. The tip of her thumb traces the curve of his deep-set dimple while his hand caresses the back of her neck, lost in her hair.

”I love you,” she whispers with conviction, and it’s something holy, something beautiful and true.

He already knows this in his heart, in the depths of his soul, he can tell from the way she looks at him, from the pure avalanche of love that pours over him through their bond — but it sets him alight when he hears her say those words. Every second lived before holds a new meaning now, each breath taken finally makes sense; everything was bringing him towards this, towards her.

He finds his lost voice, brings forth words he never thought he’d have the chance to say. ”I love you too. And… I’m sorry.”

She only kisses him again, and Ben… He loses himself to the feeling of her.

He could die now, if he had to. To lay his life down for her to live — he’d do it in a heartbeat.

But he doesn’t have to.

Together, they rise like the sun overlooking the darkness.

\--

The Falcon is pitch black as they finally step inside with shaking legs, holding onto one another. The trek back was long and hearty, like walking through waist-deep water. But it’s done now; they made it out alive, both still breathing, still here. And to Rey, that’s all that matters.

Without any preamble she scrambles to the pilot’s seat and turns on the engines. Ben collapses to the seat beside her, takes a deep shaky breath and closes his eyes. She can’t even begin to imagine how he’s feeling right now, no; she can  _ sense _ each and every emotion clearly as daylight through their bond. Memories and places, moments and words pass by her faster than she can comprehend as he takes it all in. Lets the old ghosts of this ship course through him without any shame.

The adrenaline rushing through their veins begins to slowly fade off as they’re airborne, and she begins to guide their way away from this wretched planet, this whole tainted system. Her chest feels too small for her ever-pounding heart, every muscle in her body tightly wound but she holds on, clutches the controls until she can shift into hyperdrive and be absolutely certain they’re beyond the reach of the rotten Dark.

She’s starting to feel the pain of everything their life force couldn’t heal; a deep ache in her muscles, an unpleasant stiffness in her lower back and sharp stinging where the stones cut into her forehead. And beyond that, above all, she is so deeply drained, a feeling she recognises in him too, through his pain that feels so very different from hers. Awakened to a new life, her body and mind run on low-lit fuels, barely keeping her afloat. Her hands along with her face and arms feel grimy from all the dust and dirt.

Gods, she really,  _ really _ needs the fresher, to wash away all the filth.

Through the bond she can tell Ben has the same idea in mind.

Rey doesn’t tell him where to go because she’s aware he already knows. After years of absence he still remembers the way to the fresher, walks there with an uneven gait right by her side like this isn’t his first time in the ship for ages.

Their shared, heavy breathing echoes in the silence. Her hand in his, a tether through the dark that only little dots of colour illuminate.

The dim, blue-hued light floods the fresher, far too small and cramped to fit two people at the same time, but they make it work. Their movements are rushed, haphazard; they both discard their modesty aside with their torn and filthy clothes. Talking feels superfluous in this moment, the tension between something too tender to be broken by words, their shared presence in the Force more comforting than anything else could be.

Ben turns on the water and they step into the little stall to stand beneath the rushing water, stare at one another, mouths slightly parted in awe and completely bare, bodies only a whisper away. Not too unlike to their tumultuous meeting on the remains of Death Star, his wet hair sticks to the sides of his face and she blinks away the droplets from her lashes. But everything’s quiet at the moment, the raging ocean has come to a standstill and the surface is calm. The water washes away the grime, only leaving behind aching wounds and fragile hearts that are still not quite grasping the truth of their survival. 

She does not dare to touch him yet, even though she desperately wants to; seeing the miles of smooth skin before her, and even sparing a quick glance down further to the lines of his hips teases the kindling of her desire somewhere in the pits of her stomach. But she lets it pass for now. They’re both far too exhausted, even if the feeling they share is painstakingly mutual: Rey can feel Ben blush at the sight of her unclothed, and finds herself at loss with it. She quite cannot yet understand the feeling of being desired. 

Soon enough the water turns shiver-cold, so they step out and dry themselves off with the one towel Ben managed to locate from the little cabinet in the room. They’re most definitely not putting on their discarded clothes, so Rey goes through every nook and cranny of the ship in a quest of finding them something a bit more cleaner to wear. 

She finds and puts on a shirt so big it almost passes as a tunic for her, going to her mid-thigh. For Ben she brings an undershirt and a pair of pants, undoubtedly Han’s old spare clothes for emergencies. They smell a bit stuffy from being unused for so long, but they’re warm and comfortable. 

Ben thanks her softly before pulling on the pants and then the shirt — she watches the thick muscles in his arms flex from the action, mesmerised. 

Before she can think what to do next, Ben takes her hand in his and begins to pull her towards one of the bunks, the biggest one that’s set in an indent, large enough to fit two people. He sits down to the edge of it, lets go of her hand and beckons her to sit, but she doesn’t, not yet. 

She sees something new in him, finds a piece of him she did not think would be there — or wouldn’t be.

”Your scar…” she murmurs, musters up the courage to brush his cheek with her hand. Indeed, no trace of the lightsaber wound, the one she left back on the Starkiller. Almost like it’s never been there. ”It’s gone. I didn’t even realise.”

”It must’ve been when you healed me,” he muses, turns his head into her hand that now cups his cheek. Presses a kiss to the soft skin of her palm.

Something about that touch, his words, makes the dam break. A steady rumble of barely-dodged grief rises from her chest, over a year’s worth of avalanche kept at bay, in the wicked corners of her mind — finally released. Her eyes fill with tears and a sob leaves her wrecked body as it all starts to spill out. What he did to her, what  _ she _ did to him; fear and hope and love and despair.

“I’m so sorry, Ben. I didn’t… I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d…” she starts, but cannot finish it. Words turn into ash in her mouth.

“ _ Don’t _ . I’m here, and I am not leaving your side,” he soothes, guides her to sit down beside him on the bunk. ”You’re not alone, remember? Not anymore.”

She feels the corners of her lips tug through the tears as she recalls the moment. It’s been so long, since, but she never forgot; never thought it would truly happen, the keeping of his promise. Tears run down her cheeks as she blinks, looks up to meet his eyes through her hazy vision. She remembers how he looked at her then, tender and truly concerned for her fears: she saw none of the ill will she thought Kylo Ren should possess.

Now, he looks at her differently, with relief and wonder, but the core of it is the same; warmth and utter tenderness still reside in those midnight eyes. 

His hands come up to brush away her tears, and she sighs deeply. Her heart has been brought into asunder, and every piece of her screams for him. For so long her soul has yearned, for something, someone — and finally, she finds that oh-so wanted solace from his arms, bringing her safety and peace like no other.

And to think how close she was to lose him. One fatal move, one tug of strength too much and he could’ve faded away right before her eyes, into a place where she couldn’t have followed him. The thought drives into her without mercy, deep and sharp like a dagger.

New tears well up in her eyes and she gives into it, weeps from the crushing pain but also the crippling relief. Ben begins to cry too, and the emotions flowing in the bond between them are so strong and intense she cannot tell her sorrow and pain from his, if they even are any different. He tugs her to his lap with desperate clumsiness and shaking hands as she clutches the fabric of his shirt with all her might, swears to never let go of him again.

But even like this, she’s not close enough, they’re not close enough. She rubs her tearstained cheek against his in a halfhearted attempt to reduce the distance that feels like light years still, even though she has him right here with her. Closer, she has to get  _ closer _ to him; Rey wants to melt into him, submerge into his body, crawl inside him and curl right next to his heart until they’re nothing but one hard-knit coil, an amalgam of him and her, a singular being with no end or beginning. Only then her fears can be vanquished.

But she can’t, she can’t have any of that. Instead, she buries her face into his neck and lets her tears wet his skin while he weeps into her hair. His erratic heartbeat beneath her palm keeps her grounded, reminds her with each deep thud; they are  _ alive _ .

Alive, blissfully relieved and  _ together _ . 

Time passes but they pay no mind to it. She begins to press fumbling, unsure but unbearably keen kisses into his neck as he sighs, content to just hold her, feel her body warm and heavy against his. With each kiss she marks him, tethers him into this world just in case the night would be so cruel as to take him away from her. She won’t let it happen.

“You’ll be here when I wake?” she asks after a while, just to be sure, just to hear it from his lips.

“I promise. There’s nowhere else I would ever want to be.”

At the end, they fall asleep in each other’s arms.

\--

The mid-morning sunshine is reflected from the surface of the stream, flowing with intent, with a certain kind of gentleness. Rey watches the movement of the water with endless curiosity as she wades through it, gathers her flowing dress in her hands so that it doesn’t get soaked. Round, water-worn stones dig under the soles of her feet, but she doesn’t feel the dull pain of it. 

She looks up, sees Ben on the shore smiling at her. Behind him opens a meadow, green hills rolling on and on until they meet the luscious trees in the horizon. (Their house is there too, Rey knows, right at the edge of the forest, their little cabin hidden in the shade.) The warm day has made him shed off his tunic, leaving him with his white undershirt and trousers. The wind tousles his hair that’s growing a bit too long, nearly past his shoulders; she needs to cut it soon.

She gets out of the water, blushes at the thought she can hear from his side of the bond that compares her to a goddess; more divine than that, even. Ever the sweet-talker, her husband. She greets him with a soft kiss on his cheek, and in return relishes in the smile he gives her. 

Rey blinks, and the scenery fades away. Before her lies Ben like just the moment before, but they’re back in the Falcon’s bunk. His drowsy eyes are trained on her intently as the vision — not a dream, nothing so simple as that — slowly starts to slip away from the forefront of their minds. The details begin to scatter — but the feeling remains.

”Did you see that?” she whispers into the space between them. 

Ben nods, rendered to speechless.

“I never…” he starts, finds it hard to go on as a sob threatens to slip out of his mouth. His lower lip quivers. “Never thought I’d even have the chance for something like that. For any of it.”

“You will.  _ We _ will.”

The Force swirls around them in a soothing manner, almost as if it agrees with her words. Ben smiles, just like in the vision, just like after their first kiss, crooked teeth and carved dimples, and Rey’s heart jumps into hyperdrive. Gods, he looks so beautiful.

He hears her thought, deep blush beginning to spread on his cheeks, to the tips of his ears. She reaches out to push away the strands of hair that hides his other ear, then shuffles closer so that her nose brushes his. His blush deepens, his hand rises to settle on her hip. They both know with clarity what’s going to happen, without a word about it passing between them. 

Her hand slides down to his neck, digs into his hair as she tilts her head and claims his lips in an ardent kiss. His lips are warm against hers, just like the sunlight by the stream. 

She thinks she could kiss him forever just as sweetly as this, merely feel the warmth pass between them; something magical and tender, an ethereal trembling energy that cannot be described in any other way.

But she also wants more. So much more. Kisses elsewhere, his hands on her, him inside her...

With no prior experience, only fragile concepts and her own lonely nights as her guidance on how she can gain pleasure, she’s grasped just about the gist of what they’re about to do — or  _ how _ they’re going to do it. She also knows Ben is just about as clueless as she is, as nervous and keen as she is, wanting to take that one step further.

_ We’ll go slow, _ she thinks and she call tell from the way he squeezes her hip that he’s heard her. 

Having his approval, Rey pulls back for a little bit to catch her breath, but tries something new; she opens her mouth an inkling and gives his lower lip a tug with her teeth as she ends the kiss. He makes the most magnificent sound, something between a growl and a sigh that makes her guts twist and her heartbeat fasten. She needs to hear that more.

Ben kisses her first this time, plunges into her mouth with a certain lack of finesse, but she only responds to it in kind, opens her mouth for him for the first time, gasps when she feels his tongue slide against hers. The feeling is odd, at first, but she’d be lying if she said it doesn’t make the fluttering in her stomach even stronger, something curling in the apex of her thighs. She knows that feeling, that teasing pressure.

She pulls him on top of her with a swift tug on the back of his neck, and he follows, settles his legs on either side of her hips and dips his head down again to kiss her. First her mouth, one searing kiss on her lips before he kisses the corner of her mouth, the soft skin there. Then the curve of her jaw, the tip of her chin — mapping out these parts of her he hasn’t had a chance to touch ever before. At the same time, his hand slides up under the shirt she’s still wearing, gently caresses her abdomen, the soft skin and refined muscle. The touch is light but leaves her with a deeper want, and she bucks up to his hand with a sigh. Not yet sure how to voice her contentment and want for more.

Ben is quiet, too, and Rey can tell he’s holding back: touches, sounds, movements. 

One step after another, one new thing upon the next, she pulls the undershirt off of him and throws it somewhere out of her reach. With curious hands she begins to chart his chest and back, caressing as softly as she thinks she should. A little bit of pressure on his shoulders, a squeeze on his biceps and an affirmative press against his shoulder blades — the last one makes Ben break the kiss he’d pulled her in. He exhales, closes his eyes. 

”Rey…”

”What is it?”

The Force thrums dark as he shakes his head slightly, as if trying to shrug off the unwanted thoughts swimming at the forefront of his mind.

”I can’t stop thinking about it. You were  _ dead _ .” His voice trembles, fragmented into little snippets of words as he keeps kissing her neck and jaw at the same time as he speaks, like it’d physically harm them both if he stopped. “You laid there, and I was ready, I was ready to—”

She knows what he’s going to say, and stops him before the words leave his mouth. “Ben… You wouldn’t have.”

“But I would, I would’ve done it if it’d meant that you’d lived,” he says, and when he looks up and her eyes meet his, they burn dark fire. 

More than his words, more than anything else he’s done — it’s that look in his eyes that truly shakes her. How very plainly she can see the endless depth of his love, his desire and want, those wordless emotions he can’t begin to translate into spoken language. Like stars, his love is scattered across the firmament of their bond, always there, always bright. No place left in the dark.

”Ben, it’s okay. You did it. I’m here,” she whispers, soothing them both with her calm demeanor. She takes a tight hold of his hand and sets it on her chest, right where her heart is pounding for him. ”You  _ saved _ me. Do you hear how my heart beats? You did that, you brought me back.”

He nods in silent agreement, lets his hand rest in place, feeling the stable thud of her heart through the shirt. Rey can feel his shadowed thoughts slowly dissipate, turn into something less harmful and giving way to other emotions. The things they’re feeling won’t truly fade away, not really, her fear of him leaving her behind will remain there in her mind, just as well he can’t be ridden of his frightening memories — but they can be set aside for a moment like this. 

It’s not about what could’ve been lost, but what they’ve both saved.

_ I love you _ is whispered through the bond, a gentle affirmation, their hearts speaking in unison. Her hand finds its home on his cheek, pulling him closer.

”My dear Ben,” she says softly, so full of love, filled to the brim. 

She kisses and kisses and kisses him. First gentle, quickly turning into deep and open-mouthed, sloppy and hungry, so very hungry. Her hands wind around his back, clutching the muscles as he turns them around again so that she finds herself on top of him as he lays on his back, looking up at her. Disheveled hair and wild eyes, will-o’-wisps of abyss-deep desire. She feels her heartbeat migrate south, down low as he grasps her hips, his hands so huge that they span the width of her waist with ease; she’s wholly encompassed by him.

Like this, above him and straddling his hips, she can feel him right there, the hardness of his cock straining against the pants he’s still wearing. Without thinking, guided by the instinct and the deep desire within her, she slides her bare cunt right over his clothed length in an attempt to alleviate the pressure inside her and gods — they both sing out moans at that. It’s _ incredible _ . 

Rey leans over until she’s towering over him, presses her forehead against his for a moment and breathes in tandem with him. She feels simultaneously so light that she could be whisked away by a gentle breeze, but also so heavy from the wrung-out tension, begging for release. There’s… another sensation as well, very similar to her own arousal but it’s as if it’s taking place outside of her own body, a buzzing sensation that keeps intensifying in its strength. The realisation dawns on her as she thrusts downwards again and hears him groan; it’s him, it’s  _ his _ pleasure taking root. 

Guided by Ben’s wordless pleas, she pulls off her shirt unceremoniously and bares herself to him, on her knees above him. Now, he drinks it all in, his heated gaze roams over her without shame. One of his hands keeps the hold on her hip while the other journeys upwards her body. Up the hills of her abdomen and stomach to the valley of her breasts. He caresses the soft skin there with his fingertips.

”Your beauty is limitless,” he murmurs breathless, in awe of her. ”Everytime I look at you, there’s something new to marvel.”

Blush blossoms on her cheeks at his heartfelt confession, and she smiles. It feels freeing to be loved and admired by him, wanted so deeply. There are no false pretenses in the way he worships her, only truth. But while she adores his tender approach, her patience has its limits. They’re both so drawn towards each other, a natural gravitational pull that is so very insistent, sewn into their marrow, starlight in their veins — and Rey is done fighting it. There will always be time for more soft touches, more gentleness, but for now...

A collision of the most beautiful nature is in the making.

”I’m not going to break, Ben. You can touch me.”

”How?” A tentative, genuine question, asked without embarrassment but instead with an eagerness to learn, help, please.

She takes his hand from her breast and brings it down to her core, already wet and aching for his touch. His huge hand covers her whole cunt gently, not really doing anything yet — partly out of inexperience, partly just from the want to feel her heat and relish in the reality of it all. 

”Like this,” she whispers.

She shows him, through the bond and with her own hands, guides him in his exploration. He follows her lead with an astounding ease, finds her clit and teases it with the rough pad of his thumb in a way that she can only gasp and tremble in response. And when he finally slides a thick finger inside her and curls it  _ just so  _ — she’s already gone. 

It feels as if he’s just reacquainting himself with her body, relearning the ways to bring her pleasure; he has returned to her after a rough drought and brings pouring rain with him, waking up the earth anew.

Ben kisses her deeply, takes all her needy and breathy sounds for him to keep, and in return gives her a growl of his own, reverberating deep from his chest. When he tentatively nudges a second finger into her warmth, it’s his shaky moan that breaks the silence before her own whimper joins it. It hits Rey in the haze of this brand-new pleasure, slips into her conscious mind without any preamble; the same way she could feel his pleasure, Ben can feel hers. Their connection runs deep, below the surface simmers this intimate sharing of sensation and feeling, one brought apart into two. Their pleasure is the same, in the end — it matters not who receives it, because they’ll both feel it.

Together, their motions synchronised, following on a silent cue that asks for more; it’s a whirlwind, it’s a moment caught in time as she finally gets to pull off his pants and take his cock in her hand. She knows this already, but from the way she can feel him almost fall apart just from her simple touch, her fingertips barely meeting as she grips him gently — no-one has ever touched him like this. It feels sacred, to be able to witness him like this, in the throes of passion; eyes closed and lips mouthing nonsense that quickly bears meaning. 

” _ Rey, please—  _ ”

Ben’s hands hold her hips steadfast, his touch anchoring her as she finally sinks down to his cock, inch by inch taking him in. In a blissful moment of quiet, she holds her breath in time with the Force, lets the sharp sting of pain bleed into a rush of pleasure when he’s sheathed inside her, all the way to the hilt. 

There’s nothing, nothing like this. Maybe… Something akin to the birth of a star. Incredibly vast and intense, a wondrous, inevitable event. 

It doesn’t matter, what it should or could be; there’s only him, all she can feel is him and she’s not quite sure where the line between them blurs. She only responds to what is given to her, leans over to shield his body with her own, surrenders to her want and kisses him as he fills her, over and over. Satiating the need for him that is born in the deep, reaching upwards and out of her.

Until it’s not enough, until he finds what he’s seeking, quickly turns them around and she is on her back now, his body looming. 

They find each other in the dark, bring on the light so bright that it ignites the stars. 

And when it hits, the unyielding wave, Rey comes with a silent scream, claws at his back and he follows her into the roaring sunlight. 

\--

She clutches him close afterwards, wants his form near to quiet down the overwhelming sensations, ground her back into the moment and into her body. In the hum of the bond Rey finds Ben feels the same — their minds are reeling from the powerful force of it all, slowly growing accustomed of their connection that still keeps surprising them. 

Little touches, little reminders. She nuzzles his neck and revels in the touch of his hand in her hair. He pulls some of it back behind her ear, dapples touches to her temple with his fingertips. 

He sighs. ”That was…”

”Something else?” she finishes his thought, presses a smile to his skin. It feels so easy already, the intimacy between them blooming with such effortlessness.

”Nothing I imagined it to be.”

She pulls back to meet his eyes. ”You imagined it?”

”Of course,” he says, voice low, words prickling on the edges. Eyes trained on her, sparkling with mirth — perhaps for the first time in a long, long while. ”As if you didn’t.”

She can’t disagree with him there. 

”Year is an awfully long time, you know. I had to keep myself occupied somehow.”

At that, he laughs, more so than before; now there’s a deep rumble of laughter rising from his chest with the smile that still feels like such a precious treasure to her. Something to scavenge and clutch close to her heart.

But then his smile falters, a frown casting on his features like a dark cloud of the year passed. Regret. Guilt.

”I’m so sorry. For the past year… And for all of it, even before we met. I’ll always be sorry. I know it’ll never be enough and the Resistance probably wants my head for everything I’ve done—”

Rey stops him on his tracks with a steady hand on his cheek. His uncertain gaze finds strength and courage from her own, sure and loving. Nothing but loving.

”Kylo Ren did it. Ben Solo didn’t,” she says with such certainty, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. ”And they have to go through me first if they want anything to do with you. I won’t let them take you away from me.”

She doesn’t really have to say any of these things; he already knows it all through their connection, the bond open and raw, passing her feelings into him. But she keeps going, letting the words pour out of her: ”I love you, Ben. And I want you so much, I want to have you for the rest of our lives. I know the vision we saw will become true, as long as you want to stay with me.”

Rey quickly realises she’s crying, when her throat begins to burn and her eyesight blurs. Ben’s hand comes up to brush away the tears running down her cheek. On his own, his tear tracks mirror hers.

”I love you. I… I don’t think I could let you go even if I tried,” he says through the tears that shake him.

”You don’t have to. You’ll never have to.”

They both know it to be true. Just like that.


End file.
